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Coyotes-Wolves-Cougars.blogspot.com

Grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars/ mountain lions,bobcats, wolverines, lynx, foxes, fishers and martens are the suite of carnivores that originally inhabited North America after the Pleistocene extinctions.
This site invites research, commentary, point/counterpoint on that suite of native animals (predator and prey) that inhabited The Americas circa 1500-at the initial point of European exploration and subsequent colonization.
Landscape ecology, journal accounts of explorers and frontiersmen, genetic evaluations of museum animals, peer reviewed 20th and 21st century research on various aspects of our "Wild America" as well as subjective commentary from expert and layman alike. All of the above being revealed and discussed with the underlying goal of one day seeing our Continent rewilded.....Where big enough swaths of open space exist with connective corridors to other large forest, meadow, mountain, valley, prairie, desert and chaparral wildlands.....Thereby enabling all of our historic fauna, including man, to live in a sustainable and healthy environment. - Blogger Rick

Agency halts grizzly

hunts in Kenai refuge

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Sport hunting of grizzly bears
ended Saturday
in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge because too many
bears have
been killed this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
announced Friday.

The emergency closure took effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday
on the nearly
3,125-square mile refuge that takes up much of the
northern and central
areas of the peninsula south of Anchorage, the agency said.

More than 10 percent of Kenai Peninsula grizzlies were
killed this year,
the agency said.

Grizzly deaths by humans on the Kenai have reached at least
66 bears, the agency said. Hunters killed at least 43 brown
bears in spring and summer hunting seasons. Another 23 were
killed by people defending property or their lives, by illegal
hunting, by vehicles or by the agency destroying problem
bears, the agency said.

The bears on the Kenai and other Alaska coastal regions
rich with salmon are referred to as brown bears to distinguish
them from smaller interior and northern Alaska grizzlies.

The entire population on the peninsula was 624, according to
the best estimate available, said refuge manager Andy
Loranger.

"This level of mortality is not scientifically sustainable,"
Loranger said.

A state wildlife official said he was disappointed by the
decision.

"The current harvest of bears this year is not unexpected
and does not represent a viability concern," Doug
Vincent-Lang, director of the Alaska Division of Wildlife
Conservation, said in a statement. "Once again, we are
faced with overreach by the federal government into the
management of Alaska's wildlife."

The seven-member citizen state Game Board, which sets
bag limits and seasons for game animals, has taken an
aggressive stand to expand human consumption of
moose and caribou by killing wolves, black bears and grizzly bears.

Grizzlies are slow to reproduce.

The federal agency said at least 22 female brown bears,
or 33 percent of the known mortalities, were killed in 2013,
more than double previously established limits.

"Survivorship of adult female bears has been shown to be
the primary driver of brown bear population dynamics,"
said refuge supervisory wildlife biologist John Morton
in the announcement. "Losing so many adult female
bears will have immediate negative impacts on this
population."

Actual bear deaths by humans are higher than the documented numbers, he said, and must be considered when setting harvest levels.

The emergency closure lasts for 30 days. Public hearings likely will be scheduled before more permanent measures are put in place, Morton said.

Two Massachusetts Eastern Coyotes at their den site

Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Aldo Leopold--3 quotes from his SAN COUNTY ALMANAC

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."

Aldo Leopold

"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

Aldo Leopold

''To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."

Wildlife Rendezvous

Like so many conscientious hunters and anglers come to realize, good habitat with our full suite of predators and prey make for healthy and productive living............Teddy Roosevelt depicted at a "WILDLIFE RENDEZVOUS"

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Blog Disclaimer

This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer. In addition, my thoughts and opinions change from time to time…I consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind. This blog is intended to provide a semi-permanent point in time snapshot and manifestation of my various thoughts and opinions, and as such any thoughts and opinions expressed within out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those I may hold today. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. Rick Meril and WWW.COYOTES-WOLVES-COUGARS.COM make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.